Salinas River Water Began to Rush Toward Me

Would I find the river today? As I walked south in the Salinas riverbed in search of water on January 20, 2012, suddenly the river began rapidly heading toward me in the east channel, closest to Larry Moore Park. The Salinas River lurks beneath the surface most of the year. That’s why I was looking for signs the river was visible again.

Water Rushing from Dam in Santa Margarita to Fill Salinas River 1-20-2012

Fortunately, I had a camera in my hand. I invite you to share my experience of watching in awe as the river filled and flowed swiftly toward me.

In this post, I hope to show you the river during the season it most often has flowing water. I usually find water in the river between January and April, but only if it has rained a lot. This year we had many days of heavy rain that filled the river in January.

Salinas River: Upside Down and Underground

I first saw the Salinas River when I moved to Templeton, California in 1993. This river, the longest on the California Central Coast, divides the east and west sides of North San Luis Obispo County. To go from one side of town to the other, you need to cross a bridge that goes over the Salinas River. Even though the Salinas River is usually flowing underground and is invisible to people, after heavy rains the riverbed can be full and even dangerous, so bridges are necessary.

Each year I wait eagerly for water to become visible. After each rainstorm, I walk the three blocks from my home to Larry Moore Park to see if the river has returned. That experience of having the river come right to me in 2012 rewarded me for my persistence that year. But the water didn’t stick around very long.

Two Years of Water in Winter

After the riverbed filled in 2012, the visible river stayed around for almost two weeks before it disappeared below the surface. It rained again in January 2013, and I was able to take this photo on January 25.

Soon the children were playing in the river. By looking at them, you can judge how deep this remnant of the river is.

Children Playing in Salinas River, 1-26-2013

The last time I saw the river in 2013 was on March 17. It may have been there longer, but I didn’t have a chance to go look for it again that year until it had almost disappeared. On April 20 it was little more than a narrow creek.

I didn’t see the river at all in 2014, but I went to Larry Moore Park, which has the best river access in Paso Robles, several times during the winter. The river remained invisible in 2015. We got some water in the river again in 2016. I posted the March 2016 photos I took to another blog asShort Walk to the River.

The River Showed Itself Again in Paso Robles in January 2017

On January 7, only the westmost channel of the river had water flowing, and that was almost as far north as the Veterans Memorial Bridge that crosses the river on Niblick Road in Paso Robles.

Salinas River Photos: January 9, 2017

By January 9, in contrast to January 8, the river was full and even overflowing in some spots. This is one of my favorite spots for taking comparison photos. This was taken on January 9. I will show you a contrasting spot taken a couple of weeks later.

1-9-17 View of Salinas River from Bench in Larry Moore Park

Another place where I like to shoot comparison photos is near an access point near a curve in the path at the north end of the park accessed from the northernmost entrance from the Riverbank tract. The path goes north and then turns west by an elderberry tree. This river access point is where the path turns south again. I walked through the official entrance to the river at that point. Below you can see the two paths intersecting by the elderberry tree and lamp post beside it.

Elderberry Tree and Lampost where a Left Turn Leads to the River

A fence like this shows you where to access the river. In fact, a couple of weeks later I returned here after the river was down, and someone left their boots there before walking to the riverbed barefoot.

Boots Left by on Ground by River Access Fence

The place I like to photograph the river for comparison is beside this inlet. On January 9 it is full of water.You can see the Veterans Memorial Bridge crossing the river in the background. Note the coyote brush plant in bloom on the left. I’ll show you a comparison shot taken two weeks later, below.

Inlet from Salinas River Full 1-9-17

Comparison Photos to Photo Above from 1-27-17

If you compare this to the photo above, you can clearly see how much the water level in the river has subsided. The distance between the flowing river and the sandbar is in contrast to the previous photo where the river flowed right up to and around the sandbar. The river no longer flows into the inlet on the bottom, but you can see by the mud that it was there. Take note of the position of the rocks on the north side of the inlet to compare to other photos.

Salinas River Shrinking 1-27-17

This photo focuses in the inlet itself. It was full of water. Now only mud and footprints remain to show that it was wet.

Salinas River Inlet Beginning to Dry Out 1-27-17

In this next photo, we look north up the river toward the bridge from the edge of the inlet. Notice how narrow the river has become in just 18 days without daily rain.

View Up River from Inlet 1-27-17

Contrast the photo above with the one below taken on January 9 from a few feet behind where the January 27 photo was taken.

Views of the Salinas River in Templeton

Accessing the Salinas River in Templeton isn’t as easy as accessing it in Paso Robles. However, I like to keep track of when it’s flowing. I have written a blog post, Salinas River Photos from Vineyard Bridge in Templeton, with comparison photos taken from the same spots in July 2016, when the river was low, and January 2017 after the rain. The Salinas River passing through Templeton had water in July, whereas in Paso Robles the river was invisible and appeared dry from the riverbed.

I created a greeting card at Zazzle featuring one of my photos of the view from the Vineyard Bridge looking south. You can use it to share your love of the Salinas River with your friends who haven’t seen it. The inside of the card is blank for your own message, so it’s ideal for any occasion or for just keeping in touch. You can also remove or add text to the inside of the card. I simply identified the scene.

The Time Is Right

What are you waiting for? Pack up a lunch, grab your camera and your family, and head for Larry Moore Park. Leave your car parked on Riverbank Lane near any path into the park and take that path toward the Salinas River. There are plenty of benches near the river if some adults want to rest while the younger folks go explore. One can walk along the river from Larry Moore Park all the way up to 13th Street. One can even get off the trail on Niblick Road by Wendy’s and walk onto the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge for a look at the river from above. Wherever you want to access the Salinas River Trail, don’t wait. If you delay, the river may disappear again before you get there.

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19 thoughts on “The Salinas River in Paso Robles: Now You See It”

It’s fascinating to see pictures of a river that is ‘there’ just sometimes! With all the rain California has (finally) had this winter, it looks as though the Salinas River will be above ground for awhile. Wonderful photos.

That’s very interesting watching the river fill. I am happy to hear that you are getting rain as it seems Californa is in a perpetual drought. On the south island of New Zealand, there are bridges over wide river beds that are either dry or running in a very narrow gulley to the ocean. When the rains come or the snow melts in the coastal mountains, these river-beds fill up and can sweep you away.

I’m stopping by from Janice’s and found this so interesting. How fascinating that it shows up like this! It’s funny every January I wait for the seagulls to appear on our lake by our house. Every year they come in January and stay until the beginning of March. You don’t see them again until the next year. I living in the northern part of SC close to NC and GA. It’s funny how we find different things to measure time and seasons. I really enjoyed this!

Here on the California coast, the seagulls are always with us. I enjoy watching their antics. I really miss the river in the years we don’t see it. I hope we’ll keep getting enough rain so that the river is visible every year.

Interesting to watch your river. Isn’t nature amazing? To think that God planned all that! We have what we call a “seasonal creek” which is really just a rain drain-off ditch that flows down our neighborhood and through our sloped property. We’ve been in a drought situation since early last summer and finally, just recently and now again today, we have water flowing in the creek. It isn’t deep enough for Daisy to swim yet (and it’s never very wide so really she just wades) but we’re certainly hoping that now that we finally have a late winter rain, we’ll get enough over the next few weeks to alleviate the drought. Between the dry conditions and some very windy days we’ve been in a high fire danger situation for weeks. Love your pictures, Barb!

I love the anticipation of the arrival of beauty and interest! I can just imagine you “watching” for the river to show itself. You photos make it look like such a beautiful place to rest and photograph.

I’m really thankful that no matter which house I’m at, I have beautiful scenery within a few minutes away. The river is really close to our Paso Robles home — within easy walking distance. The Templeton property is in the middle of wine country.

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About Me

I was born in Long Beach California and lived lived in Los Angeles County (Bellflower, Long Beach, UCLA, and Culver City) for my first 32 years. We then moved form Culver City to Newbury Park in Ventura County and lived there until 1992. On New Year's Day, 1993, we moved to Templeton in San Luis Obispo County. Templeton is half an hour north of San Luis Obipso, the county seat. It is a small town that sits between Atascadero and Paso Robles. I am hoping to spend the rest of my life here.

I have traveled extensively throughout California during my adult life, and I hope you will enjoy peaking at the Golden State through my photos as I share them here.